This walk will use an ascent of Wansfell Pike to illustrate the early development of mountaineering in the Lake District and elsewhere. Discover why adventurous men and women started to climb mountains in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. What did they hope to discover? And how did they make their ascents? Early mountaineers discussed will include the gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe, poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, and intrepid Ambleside-based governess Ellen Weeton.
The ascent will be led by Professor Simon Bainbridge of Lancaster University, author of Mountaineering and British Romanticism.
The walk will take approximately 4 hours and involve 400 metres of ascent. There will be regular stops for readings and discussion. There is a good path up Wansfell but please ensure you have suitable footwear and outer clothing. Please bring a picnic or food to consume on the summit.
At the end of the walk, there will be time to explore The Armitt.
